A Beauty Among the Beasts
by Zuhara-33
Summary: "No one can see me standing there, I must be invisible. No one can hear me screaming at them, my mouth must be sewn shut. No one talks to me; I must be just a shadow."-S.R. ...Samantha Smith is practically INVISIBLE to others...literally. M for sex,death
1. The Beauty

"_No one can see me standing there, I must be invisible._

"_No one can hear me screaming at them, my mouth must be sewn shut._

"_No one talks to me; I must be just a __**shadow.**__"-_S.R.

…

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep._

I groaned as I reached around for the alarm clock, knocking it off the nightstand. My face was buried in the white pillow with my dark hair wildly tossed all over it. I picked the alarm clock off the floor and slammed it down on the desk, making the beeping stop. It was six o'clock and I woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day.

My name was Samantha Smith and I was a history teacher at a local high school. I had long dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and I was often mistaken as one of the students because I looked younger than twenty-six. I didn't have any children because all of the boyfriends I had were total jerks, especially David.

I dressed in a simple, long-sleeved, purple shirt, black pants and black sneakers with purple laces. Before leaving with my backpack of work for the students-I was always prepared-, I put on a necklace my mother gave me. It was small and golden but it didn't matter to me, it was a small apple. It was what my mother gave me before she died. I smiled to myself in the mirror and went out the door to walk to the school.

So far, you may think I'm a normal, happy person…oh, how wrong you would be. Once I entered the wild classroom, no one even acknowledged my presence at all. They were throwing things, jumping off the desks and yelling LOUDLY. I screamed at them as loud as I could for them to sit down but no one even glanced at me. Then, the second the English stepped in, everything went silent and every student sat down calmly. I think a rumor went around that when someone starred at her dead in her eyes, the person had a heart attack and they thought it was because of her eyes. But I doubted that ever happened.

The teacher glared at them for a second before leaving. A few seconds walked by and that was when all hell broke loose again! I huffed and got an idea with an imaginary light bulb flickering on above my head. I walked over to the green chalkboard and dragged my nails across the flat surface. A loud, irritating screech sounded, causing them to cover their ears and groan.

"Sit your asses down now!" I screamed at them but they just shook it off and started talking again.

Sighing, I dropped down in my chair and waited for the light bulb to flicker on again.

During lunch, I ate quickly and headed to the principal's office. He was writing something down; it was usually something about the budget. I sat in a chair in front of him but he didn't even notice me.

"Mr. Romel, some thing's up with these kids, I tried everything to get their attentions but nothing worked. I yelled, slammed my fists down on their desks, scratched the chalkboard and I even wrote the two most dreaded words up there! But even faking a pop quiz doesn't work!" I threw my hands up but he never even glanced up at me.

I yelled his name and slammed my fist down on his desk, loosing it. I didn't gain his attention at all, why was everyone ignoring me! The second I slammed my fist, the door opened behind me and his assistant walked in.

She was a slender Hispanic woman with long black hair in a bun, low-cut blouses and a usual black, tight skirt that ended mid-thigh.

"Mr. Romel" he raised his head when he heard her voice. "The budget is going low and we can afford to pay all but one teacher."

"Oh, that's a shame, well, what about that history teacher in room 9B?" he asked as I gave him a look of 'you wouldn't dare…'

"You mean Miss…" she checked her clipboard for my name, "…Smith? The brunette woman that barely shows up for school?"

"Barely? I come everyday and work my ass off to tame these kids!" I yelled.

"Yeah, just fire her, if she doesn't want to work, we don't have to pay her." he shrugged.

She smiled at him to show she understood and headed out, probably going to print a letter saying I'm fired. What he said caused an outrage in me; I stood up and lashed my arm out to slap him. But my eyes widened and my jaw dropped once I tried. A panic rose in my chest as I finally understood what was happening to me. My hand cruised straight through his face! I stood there, shocked with my hand in his face. I must have been a ghost…wait, I never died, they would have said so on TV no matter who I was!

"No…no…NO!" I screamed as I looked at my fading hands.

I was vanishing and there was nothing I could do…I ran out of the building, out into the rain. Every water drop fell through me as tears ran down my cheeks and falling through my body. I collapsed to my knees, sobbing but since I couldn't be seen or heard, it didn't matter if I was screaming or softly sniffling.

That day, I walked home depressed and confused. With the little solidity I had, I lay down on my bed and cried myself to sleep with my shoes still on. Later, I woke up and remembered to get the mail. I dragged my body to the door and tried to walk through the door. Then, the door hit me as if rejecting me; I fell back on the ground, cursing and feeling disoriented. Hold on, I thought I was a ghost, how could I be solid all of a sudden? This just didn't make any sense to me.

Groaning, I stood up and touched the door handle. I almost went hysterical when I realized I wasn't a ghost…I was just something _else_. I walked out smiling and got my mail. I tossed the letter from the school into recycling and the rest was just advertisements except for a letter saying that my favorite author, Tina Clawn, was going to be in the town mall for book signing tomorrow. I thought, 'If I'm going to start looking for a job, I could start in the mall and get my book signed while I'm there.'

The next day, I went to the mall with my book, my favorite red-inked pen and a smile on my face but this time, I thought about experimenting. Maybe the fading-thing mostly depended on my energy or emotion so instead of walking, I drove there in my old black truck. I climbed out, wearing a nice blue, long-sleeved shirt, jeans and black shoes.

With several applications under my arm, I stood in the line that led to Tina Clawn, who sat at a table with extra books next to her incase if someone wanted to buy one. I hummed softly in my head as the man in front of me was getting impatient. I wasn't fading one bit so I was just plain happy so I had a smile plastered on my face but the smile on my face fell when I started getting a weird feeling. It was my 6th sense telling me to look in a certain direction. I looked and that was when I saw a Korean man hiding in the plant store with something in his hand. Was it a weird dark leafed plant? Then, the man collapsed to the ground for some reason. My head whipped back to see him on the ground with a pool of blood spreading in front of him!

I bent down and turned him onto his back, seeing a small hole in his chest. I dropped my book, dropped the applications and screamed at the top of my lungs. He was dead! At that moment, people started running for cover or the exit incase if the shooter was going to fire again. Finally, I realized what the Korean man in the plant store was holding, it was a gun. I glanced down at my hands again, seeing almost completely through them.

I figured that since no one could see me, I followed the man out with his gun tucked away in his black jacket. I ran with him to a random plane on the roof, really trying hard no to fall through the floor. I had to stop for a second to catch my breath as he jumped into the plane but one man stopped them from leaving.

He had short dark hair that looked like he had a buzz-cut a month or a few weeks ago, dark eyes, frightening claws and fangs. I stood completely still as he walked up to me, sniffing the air. A smirk grew on his face as he spoke.

"Zero had a little bird following him" he growled as my heart raced in my chest. "Found you" he whispered as it felt like my heart busted open.

In a swift motion, he kicked my feet out from under me and held me down by the back of my neck. The side on my face was pressed into the flat roof as I could see my hands become corporeal. A man stood up in the plane, starring straight at me.

"Please don't kill me" I cried, "I swear I won't tell anyone!"

"She's a mutant" the man in the plane with a red vest and swords said.

"Hey!" I called, feeling insulted. "I'm not a mutant, I'm just a history teacher, well...I was until they fired me yesterday."

"You think Stryker wants to talk to her?" another man said in the plane.

"Yeah, Vic, she could be helpful" a black man appeared behind the animalistic one.

"Fine, but I still don't trust the bitch" he pulled me to my feet and shoved me towards the plane.

"You don't have to trust her, just don't kill this one" the black man replied.

The guy with the red vest and swords asked me what was my name as he hand cuffed my hands behind my back.

"My name is Lily Spencer" I lied.

"Well, Lily, call me Wade, I will be your flight attendant this fabulous evening" he said in a feminine voice with a grin.

I sighed, "This is going to be a long ride, isn't it?"

Every minute felt like an hour but when we landed, I practically _ran_ out of the plane. The only thing stopping me from accidentally slipping off the edge of a building was the animalistic guy grabbing me by the back of my neck, pulling me back and catching me. He held me in his arms, his fiery eyes meeting my hazel ones. Mentally shaking myself, I rolled out of his arms and landed on my knees.

"So, I'm supposed to see Skyker?" I asked.

"His name is Stryker and unless you want to plummet to your death, I suggest you follow me." the guy's snarl looked a little less…snarly.

Cautious, I walked with them through a door on the roof that led to stairs and a large dark room. The one who caught me ordered me to sit down on a metal table and wait for Stryker as they left. I sat there alone in the dim-lit room for a few minutes until I heard a stern voice speak.

"What's your name?"

"Lily…Spencer" it took me a second to remember the fake name I was using.

"You hesitated, you're lying".

"No, I'm not just sure if I should tell my name to someone who I can't see." I replied.

The brighter light turned on and I saw a gray-hairing man with dark, old eyes.

"My name is William Stryker, would you please hold out your hand?" I raised an eye brow at his request.

I turned and hopped on my butt so he could see my cuffed hands. He disappeared from sight for a second as I felt something pinch my right index finger hard. I recoil my fingers toward my palm as a reflex. He walked toward a machine with a small needle in his hand that had a little blood on it, _my _blood. He dropped the needle into the machine and turned on a large screen to my right.

'SAMANTHA SMITH' it said at the top. It said everything about me. It even listed my powers. 'INVISIBILITY, DENSITY SHIFTING (she can walk through solid objects), CAN'T BE HEARD WHEN INVISIBLE'.

"So, looks like I was right" he rose his head, pointing his nose high like the leader of a wolf pack would.

"You try trusting a bunch of murdering strangers while being the only female among men." I felt a random spike of anger.

"Well, since you have been fired from your job as a history teacher and your powers are still difficult to control, how about you work with a mutant mercenary team I call 'Team X'? You could be a great asset and who else would help a mutant?" he asked as I frowned sadly.

It was silent for a minute as I thought over my options, keeping my eyes on the floor. Go home, try to control my powers without help, look for a job while I have to sell my car to pay for the rent? Or stay, be around other mutants that could understand me and possibly have a home? My choice was obvious.

"Okay, I'm in" I raised my head and smiled.


	2. The Beasts

After I told Stryker I would join them, he gave me my own room in the building that must have been their base/home. On the way, he explained my powers to me which he found out from just a drop of blood and a weird machine. Turns out, I would turn invisible if I wanted to, if I was scared or if I just let go of all control. So I would have to concentrate my control 24/7. I found two, stuffed duffel bags beside the bed with all of my clothes from home in them. When did they pick them up? I turned to him to thank him for taking me in but before a word came out, he just said good night and left.

I shrugged and went to lie down on the soft bed, smiling softly as I slipped off my sneakers. I fell asleep after a long day but out of habit, I woke up at six o'clock and I couldn't fall back asleep. Getting an idea, I sat in the middle of the bed in a lotus position as I cleared my mind. It was so quiet and peaceful… … … ***RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!*** I was glad that I was the only one in the room to hear my stomach growl loudly.

Slipping my sneakers back on, I walked out of my room, seeing a piece of paper hanging on the door with my full name on it. I shrugged; maybe it was to help me remember which room was mine. Just down the hall was the kitchen so I decided to make an omelet.

I stood in front of the stove after a few minutes passed. I could hear the small sizzling and a small occasional pop. The scent of the spices I added for a kick filled the air as I hummed. I became so invested in the humming that I swayed my hips and my arms moved with the rhythm. Turning off the heat and turned around with the skillet in my hand to push it onto the plate I left on the table but before I did, I saw a shadowy man standing in the doorway! This easily startled me, causing me to cry out as my hands the fly up and the omelet flew up as well, sticking to the ceiling.

"Hello to you too, you're up early" I recognized the voice as the tall man stepped into the light of the kitchen. It was Wade.

I sighed, my shoulders relaxing, "Good morning, Wade" I tried to ask polite. "It's sort of out of habit that I wake up early" I smiled.

I set the empty skillet in the sink and held my plate in my hands with my eyes locked on the ceiling. He stared at me for a minute until he finally asked what I was doing.

"Waiting for my omelet".

"What, do you want me to get them?"

"No thanks, I think I'll just wait for them" I replied, still not taking my eyes off the ceiling.

"I don't think they're just going to fall from the sky."

Once he said that, the omelet pealed itself off the ceiling and fell directly onto my plate. I grinned up at him and walked over to the table as he pulled a bowl of the cabinet, asking for cereal.

"Darn, it ain't working, Lily" I stopped eating when he said that.

I gulped down what was in my mouth, "Oh, I almost forgot, when I said my name was Lily, I was lying because I didn't trust any of you guys one bit. My real name is Samantha Smith".

"Your name is Sam; you told me it was Lily. You _lied _to me! That's it, I've had enough; I'm breaking up with you!" he threw his hands up when he set the bowl on the counter.

I didn't know if he was joking, a little insane or if he really meant it. I gently shook my head as he pulled a chair up next to me with a bowl of cereal in his hand.

"So, now that we're _alone_, how about we…get to know each other since you're on the team?" he asked with an adorable smile.

Smiling back, I leaned close to him. Surprised that his line worked, he let me lean in until my lips were an inch away from his.

"My favorite color is blue" I whispered and pulled away.

For a second he had a confused look until we thought 'this is going to be _fun_'.

"I got an idea, let's play a '20 Questions' so we can figure out things about each other." he offered.

"Sure, what's your favorite color? I already said mine's blue." I started.

"Red, have you killed people before?" he asked, "I have."

"I have as well but I don't regret shooting that bastard one bit" I replied, my smile falling along with my gaze. "Do you have any siblings? I don't have any".

"I used to have a little sister but she was hit by a truck when she was five" I was surprised that he said that without grief or remorse. "Who was your first kill? I think mine was a drug lord with a gun, threatening the kill some woman."

I was silent for a moment until I asked if I could skip that question and he just shrugged, asking if my parents were still alive.

"No, unfortunately, but before my mom died, she gave me this" I pulled my necklace out from under my shirt.

He nodded when he saw it and said his parents died. The game went on longer than twenty questions as we washed our dishes and put them away until I asked for a tour. We showed me where the bathrooms, den, where the beautiful garden was with a picnic table in the center and the pool. When I asked if they had a basement, a grin spread creepily across his face from ear to ear.

"This is just a rumor I heard from one of the others but…it's said Binyamin from Team V, a team before us, went down to the basement when he wasn't supposed to. Lovell, the snoopy wolf-teen on the team, followed Biny down to the basement. He saw the man walk in and waited for a few seconds. Just when Lovell was about to run off and tell Stryker, he heard a blood curdling scream come from basement! Even the scream of agony terrified the boy so ever so slowly and cautiously as the screaming died down, he walked up to the door. He said Biny's name as he could hear the sound of chomping, snapping and even slurping. He slowly creaked the door open and in the black of the room, he could see something with red glowing eyes." I sat on a lawn chair as I listened to his story.

"'Binyamin, is that you?' the boy's voice was shaky and dripping with fear. A low growl escaped the mystery-creature's throat as Lovell's trembling hand reached for the light switch. Big mistake. The flickering of the light scared the creature into lunging at the wolf-boy. The last few things he saw was Biny's ripped apart carcass lying in a pool of red, the crimson eyes and the beast's long, blood-covered fangs!" Wade finished the story.

I sat there on the green lawn chair, blinking at him until he added "The story was passed down from team to team but no one ever believed the survivors and most of those team members died the same way."

He was silent for a moment so he could let me absorb the details, "So… … …who's going to open the door, you or me?" he asked.

I looked up at him once my gaze drifted down. Was he serious? I thought for a moment, biting my lip.

"Are you scared? If you're too scared, I'm fine with that. I could just-"

I interrupted him, "I'll go" I regretted saying that.

We walked back inside, down a few halls and through a few doorways that were labeled 'DO NOT ENTER' in thick letters. A few times, I stopped myself to think if I should go though with this or not. Finally, we reached the basement and Wade told me to press my ear to the door as he did. Inside, I could hear a soft crunching sound and a low growl.

"The old beast it still munching on the bones of Team IX" he whispered as I pulled away. "So, which one of us is going to open the door?"

I was frozen for a moment, staring at the 'DO NOT ENTER' sign above his head.

"You're disappearing, Sam, are you scared?" he grinned creepily again.

Hearing that, I quickly concentrated my powers again, making myself completely visible. Pressing my ear close to the door again, my trembling fingers wrapped around the door handle. The sound of my blood rushing filled my ears as I slowly turned the handle. My heart punched the inside of my ribcage as the door swung opened. All I could see was complete darkness until I could see two small red dots glowing in the black.

My fists clutched as the growling grew louder. I could feel Wade nudging me inside but since I was feeling both light headed and light on my feet, I let him nudge me inside. A tight ball of fear tied in my chest as my feet stopped, my body stiffening.

The growling turned into snarls as I felt a clawed hand grab my shoulder from the front. That set me over the edge. I lost control, became both invisible and untouchable as I dashed out the room, terrified. I was just lucky that I didn't fall through the earth and end up in Asia or whatever was on the other side of the earth. For all I knew, I could have been _in _Asia! I dashed back through the hallways with my eyes closed, desperate to get away. I finally had to stop, about to faint from exhaustion as I realized I was in the garden outside.

"Hey, you're the new girl, Sam, right?" I heard a voice.

I glanced up to see a young man with dark hair, stubbles on his chin and blue eyes with a dark mist in them. I panted as I bent over, my hands on my slightly bent knees.

"Hey, yeah…I'm Sam" I paused to take a deep breath into my aching lungs.

"Stryker told us you were in, name's Christopher Bradley" he reached out his hand for a handshake but my hand just drifted through his.

I closed my eyes to concentrate for a second, becoming corporeal to shake his hand. We sat down in the picnic table in the middle of the large garden as I told him about Wade's story, the basement and the clawed hand grabbing me. As he listened, he rested his head in his hand as if he was tired. When I finished the story, he let out a little laugh that grew into a louder laugh.

"Ever since Wade joined the team, that's how he toys with the new guys!" he laughed as I frowned.

"He was _toying _with me?" I couldn't believe it, what a jerk!

…

(Wade's POV)

I watched as Sam bolted out of the basement, screaming until she disappeared. Usually, I would burst into laughter and fall to the ground, holding my sides. However, I didn't this time, I felt like I really wanted to apologize as I frowned. I flicked on the light switch, seeing Victor laughing crazily, sounding more like wheezing, and the red lights on the washer blinking, showing that the load was done washing. It beeped loudly as I walked over to it.

I raised the cover and moved the laundry to the dryer as he left. I closed the washer, pressed a few buttons and just stood there, thinking. Maybe I shouldn't have scared the crap out of her, I mean; she only said she would come so she could prove she wasn't afraid. She started to trust me, I think, but I probably just lost the little trust she had in me. Wait, why was I caring so much about you trusted me? With a hard shaking of my head, I walked out of the room and took down the fake 'DO NOT ENTER' signs.

I tossed the signs into a storage closet and walked out into her room, looking for her so I could apologize. She wasn't in her room, the kitchen or by the pool. Where was she? I stood by the pool, thinking until I remembered the garden. If she wasn't in there, she was either lost inside or hiding on purpose. I walked into the garden, walking past tall hedges, flowers and trees until I was reaching the center.

I could hear her giggle for some reason until I saw her. She was sitting at the picnic table with Chris. They were talking, laughing and I watched as he put the stem of a pink flower behind her ear, saying it matched her shirt. For some reason, the way they smiled at each other made my chest feel like someone just slashed at it. I bit my lip, turned away and just kept on walking, feeling the pain slowly melt away when I thought about other things. But when I thought about them, which was often, my chest started hurting again.


	3. The Initiation

(Sam's POV)

The next day, I wore a purple, long-sleeved pajama shirt with star or moon shaped buttons and baggy purple pants that had a draw string. But that morning, I didn't wake up calmly; I woke up to the sound of a gun firing! I sat up, invisible and wide-eyed as I saw Wade, Chris and the rest of the team I still haven't met yet. My eyes immediately went to the Korean man with a gun pointed up. Slowly, I became visible as the armed one mentioned there were blanks in his gun. Why were they in my room?

"Well, you guys really know how to wake a girl" I tossed the blanket off my legs.

I stood up, but the second I did, the one with short blond hair, HUGE muscles and dark eyes picked me up over his shoulder. Confused, I struggled, kicked and tried to grab onto the doorway as he walked into the hall.

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"Initiation, if you want to be part of the team, you have to go through initiation" Chris said. "Sorry about that, Sam".

I stopped struggling and sighed, "Well, can I at least know your names? So far, all I know are Wade and Chris".

"Oh, the muscley guy holding you is Fred Dukes, trigger-happy over here is Zero, John the coward is over here and Victor's the team pet." Wade pointed from Fred to the Korean to the black man that looked like Will I am and to the animalistic man. "Logan's with Stryker at the moment so he won't be joining us to see such an exciting event!" he grinned.

I readjusted the bottom of my pajama-shirt and shifted on Fred's shoulder as an attempt to get comfy. "So what's the event? What do I have to do? Eat bugs, fight or walk up and down several fights of stairs with weights tied to my limbs?" I asked.

"Those actually would be good ideas" John mentioned.

"We all went through the course and so will the girl" Victor demanded.

The rest of the walk was quiet except for Wade's constant rambling that I ignored.

Fred put me down into the backseat of jeep as Victor hopped behind the wheel. John teleported next to me, startling me as the others got in. We drove for a few minutes out in the hot sun. As far as I could see, there were scattered trees, bushes and grass surrounding base. Soon, we drove up to a shack with a fenced area behind it. The shack was old and rundown in front of the _tall _fence. The others got out but when I got out, I tripped and fell onto someone and knocked him over. I cursed when my forehead hit a rock, disorienting me. Blood trickled down to my nose from the small wound.

"Huh, I was just wondering when you were going to jump my bones, babe" I heard Wade's voice next to my ear.

I lifted my head and the smile fell from his face when he saw I was hurt. I just got up and wiped it away with my sleeve, asking if this was the place.

"Are you okay? You're bleeding?" he asked, getting up as well.

"It's just a nick, it'll stop in a minute" I shrugged, holding my sleeve against my forehead.

I walked towards the shack, seeing that it was empty through a window. I turned away, seeing Victor standing in front of me with a glare on his face.

"You better back out now or face hell" he threatened.

"Is everyone trying to freaking scare me?" I threw my hands up.

But once my hands were up, I felt strong wrap around my waist, lifting me off my feet. I gasped until I realized it was Wade holding me in his arms.

"Come on, princess, the course awaits you" he smiled and kicked the door open.

I let him carry me through the shack and out the back door to the course. He put me down on the back porch and my eyes widened at the sight of the course. First, I would have to crawl under a net of barbed wire in wet mud, dodge five swinging pendulum blades and climb a wall, using only a rope. Next, I would have to grab onto suspended roped, swing like Tarzan to each rope, land on the top of a second wall, jump and land on a mat. Lastly, I would have to climb up a tree with poles sticking out of it to a platform.

I turned to the others, "You all went through that?"

"Yeah, but Dukes fell on the last part, the pole under his foot fell right out of the tree." Wade grinned and patted my shoulder, "Good luck and nice knowing you".

I took a deep breath, shaking my hands to mentally prepare myself. I was about to walk towards the course until I felt Chris's gently hand on my shoulder.

"You don't have to do the course if you don't want to" he offered.

"It's okay. I want to do it, I want to prove that if a man can do it, so can a woman and I'll try not to use my powers." I smiled before walking down the few steps out into the sunlight.

I could feel my mother's necklace still pressed to my upper chest under my shirt. It was as if I could sense my mother's spirit with me, chanting my name so I could have confidence. I got down on my knees and crawled under the barbed wire on my belly as if I was a small lizard. How was the mud wet in the hot sun? It covered the how front of my pajamas. Kicking my bare feet and digging my fingers into the thick mud, I was about halfway through the netting until I felt a rock poking up under the mud under my right leg.

I tried to use the rock my advantage as a foot-hold but the barbed wire caught on my pant-leg near my hip. Cursing under my breath, I tugged on the wire until it ripped the whole pant-leg off and scratched my leg a few times. I gave a small huff and continued on. Once I reached the end of the netting, I stood up and watched the first bladed pendulum swinging a few feet away. The five were equally spaced by about two ½ feet and fully armed with sharp blades.

My eyes were locked on the first one, watching it swinging back and forth. Timing correctly, I stepped past the first, second and third one. On the fourth one, I tripped in front of it and just as I was about to get up, it sliced my left arm! I cried out and scrambled to my feet; running passed the last one as I held my injured arm. Blood oozed between my fingers and down my arm, soaking the part of my shirt. I had to rip off my other pants leg to use it as a bandage. Adrenaline rushed through my body as I tried to climb the wall, my hands stinging wildly. I went step by step up the wall as a few of the others walked by on the side-lines, watching me go. After reaching the top, I stood there for a second, glancing down at red hands with the blood drying on one of them.

"Come on, Sam! You can do it" I heard Wade whooping for me.

Taking a deep breath, I ran for momentum and jumped off the edge. My hands latched onto the first rope, swinging hard as I concentrated on the both the next rope and controlling my powers so I wouldn't fall. I swung from rope to rope, falling on my hands and knees on the second wall. I shuffled over to the edge on my butt and dropped off, landing in a crouching position on the mat. I jogged up to the TALL tree with several poles in it and glanced back at my hands again, seeing a thin layer of skin shredded by the ropes.

I inhaled deeply and wrapped my fingers around the first two poles, beginning to climb. My limbs already burned so the feel of the cold metal against my palms felt nice. A few times I had to stop to check if blood from my arm was flowing as if freely but it wasn't. I kept the same rhythm: hand, hand, foot, foot, hand, hand, foot, foot. After a few minutes that felt like long, aching hours, I reached the top and I plopped my slender body on the floor of the platform.

My chest rose and fell as my heart felt like it was about to burst in my chest. A minute or two passed until I decided to climb back down. I was about ¼ of the way down when blood started to leak from my hands, causing them to slip off. I gasped eyes wide as I lost my balance. Wind rushed against my body as I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the feeling of my body slamming against the ground with bones snapping and blood rushing out my body.

…

…

…

Wait, does death really take this long?

"Open your eyes, kid" I heard Victor's voice.

Confused as I could hear cloth slowly tearing, I opened my eyes. I hadn't fallen very far and he was holding onto both on of the bars and the front of my shirt. His claws were starting to rip the cloth so I tried to reach for the bars. It was too late. The front of my shirt tore, letting me fall but into another pair of strong arms. It was Chris this time.

I wrapped my arms around him as Victor came down. I thanked them for saving me but I figured that if I hugged Victor, he'd let me fall next time. The others walked up to me, John insisted that he'd teleport me with him to the infirmary in the base. They even had an infirmary?

Before we went, Wade said "Nice rack".

I was about to reply but we already teleported. Sighing, I sat down in a chair as John opened a drawer for things to treat my arm. I looked down at my ruined pajamas, seeing the ripped of leggings, bloody sleeves, drying dirt covering the front and the line of buttons ripped off, revealing my chest and stomach.

Gently, I untied the pant legging from my arm to be replaced by bandages. I winced slightly from the stinging disinfectant spray and when he started stitching the skin carefully.

"Hey, you alright?" John asked.

"No, my legs are all scratched up, I almost lost my arm and my PJ's are-"

"I didn't mean physically" he interrupted me.

I sighed and just shrugged, "I don't even know anymore. In just a matter of days, I go from being a normal history teacher that didn't know I was an invisible mutant to…this!" I threw my uninjured arm up, referring to everything that's happened.

"Fate's a funny thing" he finished stitching and wrapped my arm in bandages.

"Well, I'm not laughing" I turned my gaze away from him.

A moment of silence passed until he said "You'll get used to things around here eventually. If Zero ever tells you 'you don't belong', don't listen to him." he gave my shoulder an assuring squeeze.

I smiled at him before getting up to leave. I phased through the wall, heading to the calm garden. Ever since I was very young, I've loved nature. I remembered when my mom would chase me off with poison ivy if I tried to look for my Christmas presents when I was a child. I stood in a circle of multi-colored flowers and that's when I remembered June. My eyes began to feel like they were hollow and burning as I covered my mouth to prevent any sounds. Hot tears ran down my cheeks as I dropped to my dirty knees, unable to stand.

I wanted to scream, to sob loudly and to let out the sorrow and anger. I pressed my other hand against the grass so I wouldn't fall over. It all happened so long ago, why was it coming back to me now?

**(Who is June? How is it that she made a bigger impact on Sam than her mother's death? What is she hiding? What happened so long ago? Find out next time!)**


	4. The Family

I stared at the note on my door, then at the two bikinis on my bed. I started thinking about what were the possibilities of what could happen if I wore this or that. Shrugging, I picked one and stuffed the other into the farest part of the duffle bag of clothes. I took off my T-shirt and jeans, tossing them into the hamper. I was just about to un-hook my bra when the door opened.

"Hey, kid, what's taking-" I heard Logan's voice until I ran to the door, slamming it shut.

"Ever heard of knocking?" I called.

I could tell he sighed and put a hand on his hip before knocking.

"What's taking you so long?" he asked.

"You try deciding which bikini to wear and actually fitting into it!" I replied.

Hearing his footsteps fading, I got undressed and changed into the bathing suit. Making sure everything was tucked away; I closed the door behind me, the note falling to the floor.

'Bring your bathing suit, today's pool-day but your welcomed to skinny-dip. -Wade' it said. Like anyone would, I rolled my eyes at the end.

I walked down the hall, about to get lost again until I started phasing through walls to get outside. I kept my right hand on my left arm, my fingers running along the slight indent in my arm where the stitches were. You'd think that after about two weeks, I'd know the halls better but I didn't. I wore a black bikini top with a dark blue design of a flower in the left breast, above my heart that had straps connecting behind my neck. The black skirt had a second blue flower on the right hip with a darker blue vine around the top hem, connecting to the flower at a slant so it looked like it was just hanging there.

I walked towards the pool, actually a little shy until Wade gave a whistle. Rolling my eyes again, I sat on a lawn chair about twenty feet from Chris, who was drinking a martini. I kept my gaze towards the sky, watching the clouds drift by until I closed my eyes. Cool, pure air fill my nostrils as my mind finally cleared, thinking of practically nothing.

Soon, it felt like I was even floated off the lawn chair and…SPLASH! Water rushed at me as I threw my arms around and kicked my legs vigorously, trying desperately to grab something solid as water rushed in through my airways. I tried to scream but it just allowed in more water. Why was this happening? Finally, I felt two hands drag me out of the water, pulling me to safety but my sight was already turning black. I was unconscious.

I could feel a hand holding my wrist as another two pushed down on my chest, 1...2...3...4...5. Lips pressed against mine and air was forced in as my body felt cold. This was repeated a few times until I felt the person's fingers pressing against my chest, above my breasts. Electricity shot through my body, causing it to flinch. It was done twice and my eyes shot open, water rushing back up my airways. I turned onto my side, coughing and hacking up the liquid until it was out. My body trembled from the cold as I opened my eyes, seeing the others standing over me.

"W-what happened?" I asked, confused and dazed as my lungs burned.

"Victor and Wade threw you in the pool" Chris answered.

"It was a joke, I didn't know she'd drown" Wade looked concerned.

"You still shouldn't have done it" John glanced up at them.

"It's okay, I'm still alive" wobbly, I stood up.

"You were dead for a few seconds, we almost lost you" Chris stood up from his crouching position.

"Almost is almost, I'm alive so there's no reason to bare a grudge" I replied.

He sighed, "She's right" he lowered his gaze.

I smiled at him and walked past him, dragging the lawn chair back under the umbrella. I sat down, glancing across the pool to see Zero sitting on the other side of the pool, he never moved. I shrugged and went back to watching the clouds.

"So, how was being dead?" I heard a voice as my gaze came back down, landing on Wade.

"I couldn't see anything but I could feel everything that was happening. I felt someone giving me CPR, someone shocking me with just their fingers".

"Oh, that was Chris, he just didn't want to lose you, I guess" he smiled as he sat in a lawn chair next to me.

I smiled at the thought but it fell again, "Why is it so cold?" I asked, shivering with goose bumps.

"I can warm you up with my body, be a human-blanket" he offered with a grin.

"No thanks, I'll just get a jacket" I got up and stumbled a little as I walked.

I phased back into the building to grab my black hoodie, put it on and ran back out but once I reached the pool, I stooped dead in my tracks. I gasped with my hand flying up to cover my mouth as my eyes widened. The sky had turned black, the clouds were dark red and the pool along with puddles near it was filled with blood! I saw a teenage girl facing the pool, away from me. I knew from the second I saw her, it was June. She had long black hair and white skin but she didn't have to turn around for me to see her sky blue eyes. She turned to face me anyway with streaks of red running from the corners of her eyes and in her hand, she held a beating heart. An evil grin spread across her face as she started squeezing it. Then, I felt pain in my chest as I realized, she was holding _my_ heart! Suddenly, her finger closed around it, crushing it as I doubled over, hands on my chest.

I could hear her laughter but it slowly faded and I started hearing my own screaming starting to die down. In front of me, I saw someone standing barefoot in front of me. It was Zero.

I was in a hallway, down on one knee and keeling over, holding my chest. When I looked up at him, he didn't look concerned at all. I stood up, my hand pressed against the wall as he looked me over with his eyes.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"You were walking and you doubled over, screaming 'June' in pain. What's going on? " he pointed at me.

"Oh, um, I have a…disorder where I-I rarely start freaking out due to things from…dreams and family issues" I lied completely.

"You're lying, tell me what's going on!" he gripped my wrist.

"Okay, um, I was hallucinating, you know, mini-mental breakdown" I got nervous.

He was about to backhand me until he realized there was something on my wrist that was sticky. It was cover-up that stuck so much to the skin that water could barely get it off. He lifted his thumb to reveal the faint outward dent of an old scar. I protested and struggled as he pushed up the sleeve, revealing more scars.

"So, little miss perfect isn't as perfect as she seems" he smirked as I yanked my am back.

"I never said I was" I turned my gaze away.

"You never said where you got those scars" he countered.

I tried to walk away but he just held his arm out in front of me to stop me. I turned to face him but my eyes went down once they met his.

"Do you belong here? Are you really one of the monsters? Your parents are dead and so is your sister" my head rose when he said that.

"What sister?" I was getting nervous, slowly inching back as he inched forward.

"Don't play dumb, girl, you know what I'm talking about" he boxed me in with his arms when my body backed against a wall.

"How do you know? For all I know, you could be the lying one" I accused.

"I do my research, her name was-" he stopped when we heard Wade calling my name.

"You've been warned, if you don't tell them, I will" he glared before leaving.

Once he was out of view, Wade came into view and asked if I was alright. I made sure my scars were covered once he saw me.

"What did Zero say to you?"

"Nothing" I smiled. "He was saying things like I don't belong but John told me to ignore it." But this was something I couldn't ignore.

He smiled back at me and put an arm around me, talking about something as I was lost in thought while walking. What it Zero was just bluffing to scare me? But what he wasn't? Should I tell them one-by-one? Or just one and let him tell the others?

What snapped me out of my trance was Wade calling my name into my ear. I flinched and asked 'what' since I didn't hear anything he said.

"Didn't you here me?" he asked.

"Uhhhh, no" I replied.

"I asked 'when is your birthday?'"

"Oh, July 4th, why do you ask?" my question brought a smile to his face.

"Ohhhh, just wondering" once we were outside, my eyes filled with terror as Wade's arm fell from my shoulder.

There was a man with short red hair and hazel eyes like mine and had freckles. He was talking to Fred but when his gaze turned to me, a smirk came to his face. He walked over to me with open arms, greeting me by name. I gabbed Wade's wrist, about to disappear as I squeezed hard. Seeing I was scared, he stepped in front of me.

"Excuse me, who are you and how did you get here?"

"I'm Lou Marthen, Samantha's stepfather, and your friend Zero invited me to come." the man answered.

That was when I ran, phasing into my room as I felt tears come and memories haunting me. I locked the door and plopped onto the bed, sobbing into the pillow. Soon, I heard knocking on the door so I thought it was Lou.

"Sam, are you okay? You seemed pretty upset when you saw Mr. Marthen" I heard Chris's voice.

I got up, wiping my face with my sleeves, and walked over to the door to say "Meet me at the table in the garden".

Without another word, I ran phasing through the walls again to the garden. In a few minutes, I saw him walk to the table to meet me. Taking a deep breath, I jogged towards him with the hoodie's draw strings bouncing on my chest.

"So why did you tell me to meet you here?" he asked.

"Lou's going to be looking for me for at least twenty minutes, he always checks inside first so that's as much time we have." I sat on the seat as I spoke.

"Lou is my stepfather but he and my dad were always partners in everything. They worked together, always watched the game together and they even…" I stopped myself, thinking he wouldn't believe me at first.

"What?" he asked, trying to encourage me to say it.

"They tortured me and my sister together." I lowered my gaze as I pulled the hoodie off. "I used a ton of cover-up than barely washes off so no one would notice until Wade and Victor threw me into the pool."

He frowned and gave a look of sympathy, "Oh my God" was all he said.

"They knew that since we were very shy back then, we wouldn't tell anyone about it. Besides, if I told someone, they'd kill mom and my sister but if June told, mom and I would die. Either way, they were going to kill mom even if she didn't know about the abusing. Finally, she built up the nerve to file a divorce and take custody of me and June but then she married Lou. One day, I came home from school and looked for my sister. I couldn't find her so I went down to the basement, where they tortured us. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my father standing over June's body. She was so cut up and beaten, I almost didn't even recognize my own_ twin!_ It felt like all I knew was that he killed June and I was angry. So I took his emergency gun off the table and shot him. The bastard was just lucky he had a quick death or I would have tortured him right back! I told my mom everything and she told the police. She got my stepfather arrested and three years later, it was my…_our_ sixteenth birthday. He escaped from jail and while we were in the graveyard to visit my sister, he shot her. The coward ran off only to get arrested again. I was left all alone…my mom, dad and even my twin were all dead. He killed her for no reason, they didn't have to die, especially not someone as sweet and loving as June!" I started crying again but instead of just standing there, Chris wiped away the tears.

I stood up and threw my arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder as he held me. I could feel his hand stroke my hair and rub my back, comforting me.


	5. The Love

_**(I had to make the story M rated for this chapter's existence. Please enjoy and review)**_

"_June, are you home?" I called, dropping my backpack onto my bed._

_I called her name several times, walking into different rooms. At first, I didn't think she was home until I remembered the basement. I walked towards the door slowly and as slow as I was, it swung opened with a loud creak. I entered the black, letting it swallow me up. There were soft crying sounds coming from down the stairs. I swung my foot out to go down one step but I could feel hands in the darkness push me. It all happened so fast that it was as if I floated to bottom to open another door where I heard the soft crying. I opened the door and turned on the lights._

"_June, is that you?" I asked again._

"_Sammy" I could hear her reply in an eerie voice._

_I could see the black haired twin standing across the room, facing away from me. Her soft crying then turned to growling. The next thing I knew, the turned around with glowing red eyes above her sharp bloody fangs and lunged at me, her claws gripping my shoulders. Pain shot through my body and lingered as she ripped out my through with her fangs._

I shot straight up in my bed, gasping and grabbing my neck. I panted in the darkness of my bedroom until I calmed down. It was just a nightmare. Feeling skin that wasn't mine touching my hand, I looked down. Why was Chris in my bed? … Holy crap, Chris was in my _BED! _Startled, I fell right out of the bed and on to the floor. I climbed to my knees, seeing that he was still asleep. How did he get there? The last thing I remembered was crying into his shoulder as he held me in the garden and I felt tried. Glancing down at myself, I realized I was still in my bathing suit with almost all of my scars revealed.

I zipped opened one of the duffle bags and pulled an outfit out. I turned my back to the sleeping men, thinking 'he wouldn't notice me changing in here, I mean, he's still asleep.'

I tossed away the bathing suit, pulled on some undergarments but when I took my top off, I saw something that confused me. I had a new scar but this one was careful, not hash. It looked like a heart above my left breast; above _my _heart. From the shade of red around it, it wasn't done long ago but there was no way Chris could have done it; he's…_Chris!_

I clipped on my bra, yanked on some black jeans, a red long-sleeved shirt with a black design down the sleeves and black sneakers that had red laces. When I was finished getting dressed, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it but no one was there.

I glanced back down the hall and closed the door, thinking it was just a prank or something? While I was thinking, I didn't even notice a random magazine filled with advertising on the floor. Easily, I slipped on it, falling forward and I landed in the strangest position as Chris woke up. My hands were on the bed near his hips and my head was very close to his…_area_. Somehow at the same time, he woke up and saw me. A wild blush spread wide across his face as I felt something poke my jaw from under the blanket.

"Uhh, Sam, w-what are y-you doing?" he gave a nervous smile.

I widened my eyes as I realized what was poking my jaw and tried to stand back up but I slipped on the magazine again. I cursed loudly as I hit them back of my head against the floor. Sitting up and rubbing the back of my head, I groaned.

"It was just an accident; I kept slipping on this damn magazine!" I threw it as the corner of the room as he got up, curtaining the blanket in front of him.

I stood up as well, seeing a look in his eyes I've never truly seen. It was a pure look of love and longing. I slightly tilted my head with a confused look.

"Hey, Chris, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm more than okay" he said, dropping the blanket to his feet and held my head in his hands to kiss me.

At first, I was caught off guard so I flinched until I threw my arms around him. He stumbled back, causing us to fall onto the bed. I straddled his waist and gave small moans as he tugged at my shirt, suggesting. Smiling, I slipped off the long-sleeved shirt as he took off his white wife-beater shirt. I glanced down at the hard, smooth skin on his chest; I guessed those missions really paid off. I leaned down to kiss him again until I could feel him slowly unhook my bra. I let my head tilt back as he swirled his thumbs around my nipples.

Finally taking top, he tossed it away and I moaned under his touch. I wasn't new at this; I just haven't had it in a long time. With his finger tips softly running down my marked stomach, it felt like his hands were butterflies on my skin. Soon, all of or clothes were off and his member was stationed in front of my hole.

"Are you sure about this, Sam?" he asked.

"You're the first person I've trusted in a long time, please, Chris" I nearly begged.

He nodded, leaning down to gently kiss me as he entered me. My eyes rolled back, a moan passed my lips as he went back and forth.

…

(Wade's POV)

I sat at the kitchen table, spoon playing with my cereal. I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks and drip into the milk. My shoulders flinched as I buried my eyes into the bend of my left arm. It felt like my heart was exploding in my chest after being beaten and burned. God, it hurt so much but I just had to deal with it like I always had since Sam came. I could hear her pleasure-filled moans from her room and his grunts. Why did this matter to me so much? She was just a woman on the team! Still, I softly cried until I couldn't shed another tear. I started playing with my cereal as I rested the side of my head on my arm on the table.

The pain faded along with the sounds as my heart shriveled up like a dry walnut in my chest. Zero walked it for breakfast and saw me; it was like a vulture seeing a corpse to eat in the middle of a desert. He went to the cabinet, pulling out a plate.

"So, Wade's a little heartbroken, isn't he?" he asked.

I didn't reply, "You can tell it was good, otherwise, she wouldn't moan so loud."

I gripped the spoon and clench my teeth to prevent myself from ripping his head off. He set the plate on the counter and turned to me.

"I wonder if this makes her the team slut." he smirked. "Maybe if I just pretend I loved her, she'd moan for me too. Good thing her parents are dead, they wouldn't want to bare the shame of having a whore for a daughter".

That set me over the edge. In anger, I jumped to my feet, flipping over the table and grabbing him by the neck. I threw him to the ground and punched his face. My knuckle started to turn red and slowly swell from impact but I didn't stop. He begged me to stop and weakly raised his hands to my face. Why was he begging? It wasn't like him.

"Wade, stop it!" the voice made my heart jump. It was Sam.

I glanced up to see her take the broom and swing at me, hitting my across the face with the hard bristles. I could feel them scratch my neck as I fell back. Zero groaned on the floor as he passed out, most likely pretending. With a hand cupped over my red cheek, I looked up to Sam, seeing her wearing a loose, Hawaiian shirt that Chris wore and shorts. My eyes widened at the sight of scars all over her lower arms, lower neck and legs. Where did she get those? Who the hell hurt her? I was frozen as she bent down to look at Zero's swelling, slightly bloody, pulverized face.

"I know he's the biggest asshole in the world but that's no excuse for almost killing him!" she snapped at me.

My heart sank as I saw how angry she was, it was the first time she was angry with me. Chris walked in behind her, shirt-less but still had loose black pants. I got to my feet but she just swung again, knocking them out from under me.

"Stay down, Wade" she growled. "Take Zero to the infirmary, I think there are ice-packs there for the swelling."

Nodding, he dragged the beaten man down the hall and turned left down another hall. The brunette turned to me, her knuckles turning white from gripping the broom hard.

"Where did you get those scars?" I immediately asked.

"Never mind them, why did you attack him?" she replied.

"He called you a slut and a whore because we heard you with Chris. I don't know why I did it, what he said just made me extremely angry and it felt awesome when I beat down that mother fu-"

"Wade" she interrupted me. "You were defending me because we're friends, aren't we?"

She let me stand up, "But I want to be more than just friends, Sam. Before you came, it always felt like my body was burning and my chest hurt, but when I'm with you, the burning and the pain stops. I can't describe it but when I heard you with Chris, my chest hurt a million times more than before. I just couldn't stop crying until my eyes felt like squeezed lemons!" my words made her frown and the grip on her the broom ease.

"You're heartbroken" she lowered the broom. "Wade, do you love me?"

I stepped towards her, my hands gently holding her arms, "Yes, oh God, yes! I love you, Sam" I nearly cried out, finally figuring it out.

I wanted to kiss her but she just took a step back, "I'm sorry… … …Wade, I'm in love with Chris. _He's _the One" she frowned.

I felt like I wanted to disappear, crawl into a shell when I heard that, "Oh, best wishes to the both of you" I lowered my head and walked past her.

She didn't move as I walked into the dark hall, heading to the roof. The dried out walnut of a heart I had finally exploded in my chest, leaving me an empty shell with only its debris.

**(Please review if you're reading this!)**


	6. The Health

(Sam's POV)

I felt horrible as I walked to the infirmary. Wade's words repeated in my head, the emptiness getting more noticeable each time. Once I arrived to the infirmary, I didn't go in, I just collapsed to the ground, my vision blurring as it felt like my brain was exploding. I was on my knees as I lashed my head up, gasping in sudden pain. Wanting to scream, I realized I couldn't for some reason and I couldn't hear anything either. Why was this happening? Was this punishment or something?

The pain was excruciating in my head as I fell over onto my side, squirming and suffering on the floor. I could see darkness crawling up in the corners of my blurred eyes. Ever so slowly, the pain began to dull away until all I could see was swallowed up by the cruel darkness.

Once I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital in…_Canada?_ I glanced around, seeing a woman with curly golden hair and blue eyes. She smiled at me and put down her clipboard.

"Hey, sleeping-head, how are you feeling?" she asked without any type of accent.

I groaned, "Like my head exploded, imploded and exploded again".

"The doctor took x-rays of your skull and CAT scans but he didn't find anything wrong" she glanced at the clipboard.

The nurse shrugged and asked if I could see or hear anything before I passed out along with a few other questions. Here to rescue me from the boring questions, Logan and Chris came to pick me up. I wrapped my arms around Chris's neck, giving him a small kiss. He whispered that there was going to be a surprise when we would go home as he handed me a plastic bag of clothes from my room.

The hospital released me, thinking that maybe I had some type of stress-overload and fainted before. I wore a red tank-top, thin black jacket, red sneakers with black laces and thin black pants. Today was June 30th; my birthday was just a few days away so I walked with an anxious grin.

We drove back to base and I was told to go to the infirmary to meet someone. At first, I thought it was a prank until I opened the door. There was a woman my age standing around, her long black hair flowing down her waist with her blue eyes flickering everywhere. My smile fell into a hopeful look and I stepped forward as she smiled at me. I reached out to her shoulder, trying to form words.

"J-June, is that really you?" my voice was shaky.

Her voice wasn't different at all, "June? Miss, you must have me confused with someone else. My name's Nina Carter" she tilted her head.

I gave a look of disbelief, "But you sound, look, smile and tilt your head exactly like she did. You must have found a way to come back from…" I trailed off as he grabbed my wrist, harder than June ever would.

"My name is Nina Carter, the mutant nurse Mr. Stryker" she lowered my hand away.

A sad look formed on my face, hope vanishing as I spoke "Oh, I understand…I'm Sam Smith" I turned to walk away.

Later, I went to Stryker and out of rage, I shoved him and yelled at him.

"Why the hell did you have that Nina-woman join?"

"Not all of us are medically experienced or have an accelerated healing rate like Victor and Logan." he answered.

"So she just _happened _to look and sound exactly like my twin sister?"

"Yes" he replied shortly.

I shoved him again, "She's just another freaking reminder that my freaking sister is gone for good and June's never coming back even if she could raise the dead!" tears welled up in my burning eyes as I revealed one of my twin's secret mutations.

"That's not my fault, Samantha!" he raised his voice, cleared his throat and lowered it. "You're just going to have to accept it whether you like it or not."

He walked past me as hot tears ran down my cheeks until I grabbed his shoulder. I whirled him around and in a swift movement; I broke his nose with my hardest punch. He staggered back, crying out with blood gushing out his nose as he held it. I was about to punch him again until he pulled out a tranquilizer gun and shot two darts into my chest. I gasped, stumbling when I lost my balance with my vision blurring and numbness quickly spreading through my body. I fell to my hands and knees, trembling as I was trying hard to keep my eyes open but it was too much of a challenge. I collapsed onto my side, unconscious.

Why was I always so angry nowadays? It was my 'emotional time of the month yet so why was I just so angry for almost no reason. When I attacked Wade with a broom, I was **angry** but if I would have never done that!

…

…

…

I woke up to a massive headache and the feeling of something being plucked out of my chest. My heavy eyelids slowly opened, seeing Nina having trouble getting the second dart out. I winced as it was caught on a piece of skin and was ripped out.

"Sorry" she said, pressing her palm to the bleeding dots.

I glanced down as her hand gave a slight green glow and my chest felt cold. She removed her hand, showing only my scared skin…she could heal injuries. I sat up on the bed, realizing I was in the infirmary. Softly shaking my head, I sat up but Nina stopped me from leaving.

"Samantha, wait, there's something wrong with you" she put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"What is it?"

"When I concentrate my eyes on people, I can see what's medically wrong with them but when I look at you, it's hard to understand what it is." she replied.

"Are you sure it's not just mental problems or my scars?"

"I'm completely sure, it's something I've never seen before." I shrugged her hand off my shoulder and walked out.

"Well, tell me when you figure it out" was all I said before leaving the woman.

Sighing, I went out to the garden for a little fresh air and sat on the bench with my head still aching. 'Maybe it's just a migraine' I thought as I rubbed my temples. It felt like my brain was pressing against my skull. Wait a second… … …

I ran back inside and sneaked into Zero's room to use his computer. Constantly glancing at the door, I went to Google and typed in what I wanted to search before hitting 'Enter'. I quietly tapped my foot on the floor and waited for the links to pop up. I clicked one, read almost every inch of it and tried several other links. Panic slowly rose in my chest as my head throbbed. No…this couldn't be!

Exiting the website, I jumped out of the chair and dashed to the door but when I opened it, Zero was there. I gasped and jumped, starting to fade from being startled.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked, sounding as if he was accusing me of something.

"Nothing, I was just checking a website for a second." I replied.

"I don't believe you" he stepped forward as I backed away.

"I'm not lying" I starting to sound a little annoyed.

"Then what were you checking?" he asked as I stopped backing up, trying to stand my ground.

"It was m-my E-mails" I lied.

"You shouldn't lie to me, Smith" he narrowed his eyes before shoving me back, causing me to fall onto his bed.

He crawled on top of me with his gun to my shoulder, threatening to shoot me as his knees pressed down on my hands. I kept lying to his face until he got another idea. Seeing the weird look in his eyes, I struggled harder and felt the pain building up in my hands. He grabbed handfuls of my shirt and ripped my red tank top open.

I lashed my head up, head butting him. As he tried to shake off the pain, I phased through the bed, falling onto the floor. I hastily crawled out and dashed to the closed door until I felt two rough hands grab my wrists, closing a dark grey, metal cuff around my wrist.

He slammed me against the door, the momentum throwing my head back at the door as I cursed under my breath. While I was dazed and disoriented for a second, he tossed away my black jacket and ripped shirt. I tried to phase out of his grasp but it didn't work. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying my hardest to phase through as I felt his hot breath on my neck. Why wasn't it working?

"Don't waste your energy, the cuff you're wearing prevents you from using your powers" he whispered with his cold, almost monotone voice.

Hearing that, I thought 'Then I won't be a coward this time' and I brought my knee up quickly. Before I could hit his crotch, his knees closed on my calf, stopping me. Shuddering, I pressed harder against the door as I got another idea. I took in a deep breath to scream for help. Seeing this, he leaned in to silence me with his lips. I harshly bit his lip until I could taste blood.

He pulled away, "You little bitch!" releasing my right wrist to back hand me, I reached out and clawed his face.

Blood oozed out from the four red stripes running from under his left eye to his jaw line. His dark eyes were filled with anger and fury as he punched me to the floor. My head hit the floor hard with my vision doubling but it was probably just from the disorienting. I could feel Zero straddle my waist, his fists launching into my unprotected face.

My body shook with every punch, blood leaked from my nose and when he finally stopped, allowing me a chance to beg him to stop but I just spat blood in his face. I could hear a soft grunt when he punched me one more time but I couldn't even feel it. It felt like I could barely breathe as everything faded to black.

…

…

…

My whole body felt cold as a pair of hands gently touched my face. Shivering, I didn't try to shake them off as I opened my eyes, seeing the swelling that forced them close pull away as if in a reverse swell. I could see Nina come into view with a worried look.

I groaned, "What happened?"

"You and Zero got into a fight but he knocked you out" she answered.

"He did?" it felt like my mind had been wiped almost completely clean so it took me a minute to remember everything.

"Oh, I figured out what wrong with you. The reason for your recent random aggressiveness, fainting, blurred or doubled vision and ear blockage." I didn't know how she knew all this if I hadn't told her but I didn't care. "Samantha, I am sorry I have to tell you this but it is a-" she stopped when the door was thrown open.

Wade walked in with John at his side and they looked pissed.

"I want to know what the hell has been going on with you, Sam! All of a sudden, you're always angry, you randomly start passing out, picking fights with Zero and Stryker and you're covered from neck-to-toe with scars!" Wade started, throwing his hands up.

"You used to be such a nice girl, now look at you" John said in a soft voice.

I stand up in front of the bed, "So, you think it's _my _fault? Before Nina, I was the girl on the team and no one even let me go on a mission because I was too 'inexperienced'. If you haven't noticed, living here is a real pain in the ass! Victor's an ass, Zero's an even _bigger_ ass, and you're and ass!" I pointed at Wade.

"How am I an ass? You're the one who I gave my heart to but you just stomped it into the ground!" he yelled at me as he stepped forward.

"I never asked for it but you're just going to have to suck it up and accept the fact that I'm in love with Chris!"

"You can be a real bitch, you know that?" he narrowed his eyes.

"…and you're the most selfish, annoying, flirtatious jerk I've ever met!" I glared.

"All I want to know is why you're acting like this" he stepped to close so I shoved him away.

"…because I…" I couldn't say it because all I wanted to do was hit him at least once.

I sighed and turned away, arms crossed over my chest, "Wade…I think I have a brain tumor…it's the side effects that are making me act this way".

I could tell the color drained from his face and his anger turned into disbelief, "No…this can't be true, you're lying!"

I didn't respond as he turned to Nina, asking her if this was true or not. She was quiet but I could still hear her as she responded. Her words caused tears to spill out from my eyes and made me feel sick to my stomach. It was amazing how six simple words could change everything.

"Yes, I am afraid it is true".


	7. The End

(Wade's POV)

I stood there; face almost blank as I couldn't believe my ears. This couldn't be happening…it just couldn't! I could feel John's hand on my shoulder, trying steady me as my body tilted back, about to fall.

"Is it serous?" he asked Nina.

"I can see it spread all over her brain like a hand wrapped around a ball. I can perform surgery to remove it but it would be incredibly risky." she replied.

"Do it" was all I said as Sam turned to face me.

"Wade".

"If there is any chance you can survive this, I'm willing to take it" I gave her a determined look.

"It's my life and my god damn brain so it makes it my choice" she glared.

It was silent for a moment, "So what do you think, Samantha?" Nina asked.

The brunette thought for a moment until… "Can I at least tell Chris before we do it?" she asked.

"Tell who ever you like to tell" the nurse gave her a sad smile.

I watched as Sam walked past me without another word and out the door. I could hear John leave as well as Nina spoke to me.

"I know you love her, Wade" she started. "After she tells Chris, tell her you love her and show her the time of her life because as far as everyone knows, this could be the last day she walks the Earth."

"Why don't you just tell this to Chris?" I asked.

She tilted her head and gave a look like _'do you really need to ask?'_ "Just go" was all she said before I left, her stare starting to creep me out.

I walked for almost half an hour until I found her crying in the garden at the table. My heart felt like it was drowning when I saw her crying. I sat next to her, silent and trying to think of what to say. I placed a hand on her back and asked if she was okay.

"C-Chris and I h-had a fight a-and we…" she sobbed. "…w-we broke up!"

She turned and threw her arms around me, burying her face into the crook of my neck. Hot tears covered my neck as I held her close, trying to ease away her pain.

"Hey, it's going to be okay" I whispered. "He's wasn't the One, so _what? _You still have your whole life ahead of you".

"That's only _if_ I survive the surgery" she held me tighter.

"You still have a chance" she pealed her face off my neck to look at me with red rings around her eyes.

I caressed her cheek; "You're the strongest woman I know…you'll survive without a doubt" I smiled.

Wiping away her tears, I cradled her in my arms, "Sam?"

She made an 'hmm' sound, "Remember the initiation course we put you through?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" she mumbled.

"We all kept saying that we went through the course but…it was a lie. Every mutant used their powers on the course and died before they reached the tree. Stryker decided that recruits wouldn't go through the course anymore until the others demanded that you do it or they would quit the team. You weren't just the first woman to join; you were the first to complete the course." I explained.

I could hear her breathing slow down calmly; she fell asleep. I could help but almost laugh at how babyish her face looked when she was resting. Picking her up, I carried her inside with her arms still around my neck. A smile was plastered to my face as I kicked her bedroom door open and gently laid her down on her bed. She looked cute as I kissed her forehead. About to leave, I realized something…she wouldn't let me go! Her arms clung around my neck, holding me tighter when I tried to squirm loose.

Five or seven minutes passed until I finally decided 'screw it' and lay down next to her. Slowly, time passed until my eyes closed, drifting off to sleep as well.

…

…

…

She opened her hazel eyes to see me right in front of her with a smirk.

"Was it good for you too, dear?" I joked as she pushed me away.

"Wade Wilson, what the hell are you doing in my bed?" she asked as I fell out of the bed.

"Well, your arms boa-constricter'd me and you wouldn't let go so I had no choice."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about my clinging disorder, it mostly happens when I'm sleeping." I could tell she felt embarrassed for a moment.

Then, she frowned with wide eyes as her lips slightly parted, "Wade" her voice was shaky.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked, standing up.

"It's happening" was all she had to say for me to understand; she was about to die.

Quickly, I picked her up but she just gripped my arms, "I'm not going to make it…Wade, ever since I met you…" she paused to wince. "…I knew I loved you".

Her words made my heart feel like it were burning but in a good way, "I love you too, Sam, and you're going to make it" I said as I dashed through the halls.

About half way there, I tripped and fell onto the woman as she cried out in pain. She held her head as if trying not to have it pop off and roll away.

"Listen to me, you are Samantha Smith, you aren't going to let a tumor kill you, I know you're stronger" I picked her up again but when I tried to stand, I collapsed back to my knees. My ankle was twisted.

"Wade, please" I glanced down at her. "I'm fine with spending my last moments with you".

"I'm not going to give up" I strained to my feet but fell back down, ankle throbbing.

"I'm not asking you to give up…I'm asking you to let me go" I could see her trying to force back the pain to smile. "I'm asking you to let me die…"

Tears trickled down my cheeks; "I love you" my voice was breaking.

Her trembling hand reached up to wipe away my tears before placing a weak kiss on my lips. With my heart gluing its self back together, I kissed back and before our lips parted, I could feel her hand squeezing my upper arm. It was as if she was holding on for dear life before she let go of her last breath with a few soft words.

"I love you, too".

…

…

…

The next day, we all stood in front of a grave stone in Ireland, the place she told me she always wanted to go when we played 20 questions. Zero sat in the jet, not even caring about the small funeral. Fresh dirt covered her beautiful coffin when we buried her with flowers in her hands. She wore a nice blue dress with sky blue gloves and a sapphire barrette in her hair. I've had more than my fair shares of kills but this death had the most impact on me. After a while, the others headed back to the jet and I was the only one left, gazing down at the grave stone.

"_Samantha Avril Smith_

_July 4th__, 1985 - July 2__nd__, 2011_

_The strongest, most caring young woman in the world is now reunited with her family._

_Died with the one she loved the most."_

"It's time to let go" I could almost hear her voice.

"Goodbye, Sam, I'll never forget you…" I bent down to make a hole about a foot deep and dropped a small diamond ring, burying it. "…and happy birthday"

**(THE END and I'm sorry it's a little short)**


End file.
